Leeds Theatre Festival
A Summer Celebration of New Stories and New Voices.
We end the season with the Leeds Theatre Festival – a vibrant celebration of creativity, showcasing the outstanding talent of Leeds Conservatoire students and our partnership organisations.
This exciting festival champions fresh ideas and original work, offering a platform for new voices and emerging artists to share their stories. The line-up includes new performances, play readings, scratch nights and performances of a commissioned musical.
Whether you're passionate about new writing or simply curious to see what the next generation of theatre-makers are creating, this is an event not to be missed.
Performances:
Monday 6th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
A Little Bit of Love
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
12.30pm - Room 219
As Toni Marie comes under increasing pressure, she digs her heels in and refuses to help. The doctor initiates a Mental Capacity Assessment which Toni-Marie passes but complicates matters further.
Toni-Marie has the capacity to make the decision independent of her parents but still declines the potentially lifesaving operation. Angelica is devastated, Mum wants more time, believing Toni-Marie just needs to process things ‘in her own way’. Dad bribes Toni-Marie to comply with tickets to see Luke Littler, but when the dates clash Toni-Marie does a moonlight flit.
Written by: Jilly Sumsion, Dramaturgy by: Laura Marsden, Directed by: Cheryl Martin
Life Behind Bars
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7pm - The Venue
A Satirical Two-Act Musical that comments on working in Corporate Hospitality in the 21st Century, featuring a catchy Folk-Rock score and witty and lively script. We follow Sam Booker's induction into their first ever hospitality job, where we meet an array of whacky and wonderful characters that make up the staff of "Pimento's"- a corporate-chain cocktail bar.
They learn the ins and outs of service, but cant shake the thought that they aren't cut out for this, and want to chase their real dream of reaching the stars (quite literally!)
When disaster strikes this small team, we see characters overcome hardships, build relationships, and show that it's not the place you work at, it's the people you work with that makes it all worthwhile.
Written by: Lizzie Lawton and Joel Taylor, Directed by: Rueben Foyle, Musical Direction by: Alex Faulkner, Choreography by: Eleanor Doran
Tuesday 7th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Way Down Under
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
1pm - Room 219
Turns out it's surprisingly easy to get your hands on a 1-year Australian visa. Unfortunately for the beautiful nation of Australia and its people, two of Britain’s biggest Idiots have recently discovered this fact.
Armed with nothing but their (lack of) wits, their (reckless attitude towards) money and their (surprisingly) unwavering friendship, they march on ready to unknowingly leave a trail of chaos in their wake. Do they have what it takes to survive “Down Under”? Or maybe more importantly, does the great “Down Under” have what it takes to survive them?
Written by: Sonny Bartlett, Joe Stanley, Daniel Pyke
Paywall
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - Room 219
Lizzy is 27, broke, and boxing up her life in a crumbling Dublin bedsit—on her way back to the last place she swore she’d never return: home with Daddy Dearest.
Fuelled by the legend of radical journalist Margo Murphy, Lizzy has always had one ambition—to drag bullies into the spotlight and tear them apart in print. It’s a noble dream…
If Lizzy wants a byline—and a legacy—she’ll have to decide just how far she’s willing to go.
Written by: Neysa Killeen, Directed by: Licie Wood
Grounded
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - Room 218
One terminal. No exits. Nowhere to hide.
When a sudden solar storm grounds every flight, a group of strangers and estranged lovers find themselves stranded in an airport terminal. With the world seemingly ending outside the glass, tensions boil over and hidden truths take flight. Can they find what they truly want from each other before time runs out—if it hasn't already?
Join us for an intimate rehearsed reading of Grounded, a brand-new musical in development.
Written by: Tom Maxwell and Kaz Gilbody
Wednesday 8th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Falling in Love With Fictional Men
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
12.30pm - Room 219
Stevie and Nick, loosely estranged siblings in their late twenties, reunite to scatter their dads ashes. Nick arrives expecting a sober, respectful send-off. Stevie arrives with a duck-shaped pedalo and a four pack of beers. As they awkwardly pedal across a small lake in Yorkshire, their clashing approach to the memorial quickly unravels into a bigger conflict.
Their Dad, recently ostracised by the local community, looms large in his absence. Nick, who stood by him and cared for him during his terminal illness, struggles to reconcile the man he knew with the accusations left behind. Stevie is determined to see him as a villain, a black and white picture of parental neglect, shame and toxic masculinity.
Written by: Fabien O'Farrell, Dramaturgy by: Michael Hunter, Directed by: Cheryl Martin
Improv, Improv, Improv
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 219
From The Comedy Society comes ‘Improv, Improv, Improv’ a witty and fast paced improvised comedy show.
Brought to you by the Leeds Conservatoire Comedy Society
Blackthorn
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - Room 218
“People tell us, they love to tell us, about how it’s not the same. You can move here at six years old, or sixty or even six weeks new-born, but it’s not the same. It’s not the same as us?”
Can you move on from the places and people who made you?
10 years on from its first performance, Charley Miles’s play is more prescient than ever as it explores how choice and circumstance can pull us away or push us towards the people and places we love.
Written by: Charley Miles, Directed by: Licie Wood
YOU, ME & the rest of the world
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7pm - The Venue
YOU, ME & the rest of the world is a brand-new original musical about queer parenthood and chosen family exploring love, identity, friendship, belonging, and the quiet courage it takes to keep moving forward.
Blending an original singer-songwriter score with intimate storytelling, the piece places complex women’s lives centre stage.
Written by: Hollie Cassar, Directed by: Katherine Hare, Movement Direction by: Laura Meaton
Thursday 9th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Perfects
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
1pm - Room 219
A darkly comic semi verbatim play, Perfects explores the pressures faced by six high achieving students. When one of them unexpectedly collapses, unspoken truths come to light, and they must all decide who—and what—they are willing to sacrifice to remain perfect.
Written and Directed by: Verity Fullerton-Smith
Sonar Club
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 218
Brought to you by MA Directing student Elia Yu.
Written by: Jiayi Song, Elia Yu, Directed by: Elia Yu
Alone Two-Gether
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - The Venue
Two sisters. One daughter by birth, one by choice raised under the same roof, in unequal worlds. One learning to survive without being wanted. One burdened by favour she never asked for.
A new dance work about what grows between two people when everything around them is designed to keep them apart.
Created by: Candice Song, Dramaturgy by: Tonicha Jeronimo, Music Direction by: Yezi Guo, Choreography by: Charlotte Freeman and Adèle Cotteverte-Roques
Unmasking Red
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - The Venue
Blending physical theatre and contemporary dance, Unmasking Red retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood through an autistic lens. In this version, the wolf represents feelings of overwhelm and the challenges of navigating a world that can feel difficult to understand.
The audience is invited to experience the world from Red's perspective as she faces the pressures of school, family, and everyday expectations. Through her journey, the performance explores how people are perceived, how identity is shaped, and what it means to be yourself in a world that isn't always built for you.
Written and Directed by: Tonicha Jeronimo, Movement Direction / Choreography by: Ava Jeronimo, Dramaturgy by: Ben Power
Friday 10th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Screaming Circle
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
12.30pm - Room 219
On the night of the blood moon eclipse, Anne persuades Claire to step away from the dessert menu at their local Harvester and take a big risk on a new women's wellness circle on Saddleworth Moor with life changing consequences.
Written by: Rachael Halliwell, Dramaturgy by: Tonicha Jeronimo, Directed by: Cheryl Martin
The Peasants Feast
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 219
The Peasants Feast is a messy clash of student party culture, ritual, rave, and an exploration of young spirit, connecting partygoers to an ethereal, astral realm within themselves and each other.
Written and Directed by: Brandon Robinson-Connolly
About Love
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - Room 219
Why do we love when we know the ending will hurt?
About Love is a new Scottish folk musical exploring two relationships as they navigate life, love, and loss in Glasgow.
This rehearsed reading will feature some of key scenes and songs in this early stage of development.
A Q&A will follow post show.
Book and Lyrics by: Sophie McSherry Gunneberg & Neysa Killeen, Music by: Sophie McSherry Gunneberg & Chris Preece, Directed by: Neysa Killeen
Island for Two
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - The Venue
Island for Two is a ‘bro-mantic’ new musical play with an original score that blends old-school musical theatre with a modern twist.
When two 19-year-olds, Luca and Jude, are caught in a storm at sea, they are not only thrown onto an uninhabited desert island, but also a world without boundaries or expectations. Can their childhood friendship survive the hotter climate?
Written and directed by Jono Chant-Stevens, Island for Two is a raw and intimate exploration of our friendships and how they can change with age.
Book, Music & Lyrics: Jono Chant-Stevens, Directed by: Jono Chant-Stevens, Musical Direction by: Yezi Guo
Saturday 11th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Feral
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
1pm - Room 219
Experience Jane Austen like you’ve never seen her before.
FERAL reimagines the wit of Austen’s ‘Juvenilia’—the raw, unfiltered stories written by her in the late 1700s. Now, that same defiant energy explodes onto the stage for a new generation.
In 2026, four young women navigate the chaos of the modern world. From toxic situationships and digital-age burnout to one too many drinks, FERAL bridges two centuries to explore what it truly means to find your voice when the world is trying to drown it out.
Raw, relentless, and unapologetically loud.
Written by: Frankie Sharp, Dramaturgy by: Neysa Killeen, Choreography by: Kaz Gilbody
Red Ladder Scratch Event
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 219
A selection of first drafts from exciting new writers involved in Red Ladder's Writing Development Programme.
Presented by Red Ladder, Directed by: Cheryl Martin
If You're Feeling Sinister...
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - Room 218
“If You’re Feeling Sinister...” Is hitting the road!
Following on from their sold out run in their hometown of Grimsby, The Leatherjackets bring their debut show to Leeds!
The show promises and delivers an evening of mischief through their psychedelic, anarchic and thoroughly unique brand of comedy.
Written by: Charlie Henderson
Gay Little Love Stories
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - The Venue
Gay Little Love Stories is a musical revue that celebrates and reflects upon queer experiences – the awkward, the passionate, the complicated, the tragic, and the human.
Featuring music from a range of shows including Fun Home, Falsettos, RENT, The Prom, Bare, and many others from the queer musical canon.
A celebration of queer life of today and honouring the queer life of yesterday.
Created and Directed by: Dan Savage
Monday 13th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Dog Dog Dog
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
12.30pm - Room 219
Greater Manchester, September 2008. The height of Cheryl Cole’s X-Factor domination. Side fringes and lads mags fill the empty high street shops and a 12 year old girl believes that she is turning into a dog.
Inspired by my own experience of being called a dog in high school, DOG DOG DOG is a dark comedy which asks how a child can reclaim their humanity in a society which is determined to strip them of it?
Written by: Terri Jade Donovan, Dramaturgy by: Candice Pullom, Directed by: Cheryl Martin
The Disappearance of the Black Cat
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 218
In the quiet village of FalleyGreen, life is upended when another young resident mysteriously disappears.
As fear tightens its grip and suspicion ripples through the village, teenager Teddy Gedding is plagued by visions—each one drawing him closer to an ancient local legend: the Black Shuck.
As secrets rise to the surface, the line between myth and reality blurs, FalleyGreen is pulled into a dark and gripping search for answers.
A new musical that reimagines a chilling piece of British folklore, blending suspense, mystery, and haunting storytelling.
Book and Lyrics by: Karis Jacob, Music by: Karis Jacob & Db Justin Derla, Directed by: Karis Jacob & Db Justin Derla
How the Whale Became (and other tales)
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - Room 219
Join us for a wondrous rehearsed reading of How the Whale Became (and other tales), based on the classic collection by Ted Hughes.
This playful telling brings Hughes’ vivid animal creation stories to life - from the stretching of the elephant to the transformation of the whale. Rediscover how the world’s most iconic creatures came into being.
Written and Directed by: Laura Marsden, Dramaturgy by Andrew Coan
Tuesday 14th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Revenge
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
12.30pm - Room 219
If a crime wasn’t a crime then, but totally is now, where the fuck does that leave me today?
In a shit load of debt from a fuck tonne of therapy…Fucking brilliant!
Revenge is a semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age piece about a millennial woman who is coming to terms with the crimes and trauma of her teenage years. Being a victim of revenge porn at the dawn of the camera phone era, before this was ever considered a crime.
It investigates female sexuality, toxic masculinity, the politics of race and colourism, puberty and girlhood and how perceptions have changed over the past 25 years.
Written by: Rachel Morris, Dramaturgy by: Frankie Sharp, Directed by: Cheryl Martin
Oklahoma! A Conscious Revival
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - Room 219
In 1931 Lynn Riggs Green Grow the Lilacs became Oklahoma!, the production often credited with launching the Golden Age of Musical Theatre and defining the modern “book musical,” where songs and dance fully serve the story. But in creating this celebrated version of American identity, Broadway also helped build a cultural narrative centred on white settler optimism while erasing Indigenous perspectives.
Riggs, a Cherokee playwright, set his original story in Indian Territory and filled it with characters shaped by overlapping Indigenous and settler cultures. His play carried darker themes of violence, displacement, uncertainty, and belonging. The frontier was not romanticized; it was unstable and complicated.
Along with a group of allies of color from the Leeds Conservatoire, Sheri has the characters in Green Grow the Lilacs take Oklahoma to task for racism. In this act of repair, we propose the question, “can someone please produce an entirely Indigenous production of Oklahoma already???"
Adapted and Directed by: Sheri Sanders
Faeryn's Call
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - Room 218
Faeryn ,a young girl, stands alone as her world falls into darkness. The Grath spread, infecting and snatching the people of Kayvernn and her people face extinction. As fragile friendships form, hope feels distant. Can Faeryn discover her purpose in time to save Kayvernn?
Written by: Beth Pearce & Ruby Noyes
Wednesday 15th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
A Conversation
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 219
When Seana's dad passes away, we see her journey with grief through the eyes of her best friend, Eve.
This play was created to explore how young people cope with their own grief and that which surrounds them, Northern Irish wake culture, and the frequent misunderstandings that come with the death of a loved one.
Written by: Rachel Adams
Figuring It Out
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5pm - Room 218
Siblings Tory and Leo have never understood each other – he, a high-powered New York lawyer and she, a free-spirited Italian bartender. After two years of silence, neither expected to bridge the gap...
But when family drama forces them together, the silence is replaced by the hum of a car engine and a very long road trip. Whilst navigating eccentric Viennese grannies and unexpected thefts, they journey towards finally figuring out their differences.
Written by: Chiara Louis, Directed by: Keziah Nicholas, Isabelle Davies-Wolfe, Musical Direction by: Chiara Louis, Isabelle Davies-Wolfe, Movement Direction by: Katie Morrison
The Other Frances
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - The Venue
Frances Hardy is not waiting to be rescued. The heroine of this story has a family estate on the brink of ruin, a fiancé, Thomas, who is sadly on the wooden side, and a life she hasn't yet been allowed to choose.
The Other Frances is a bold and playful new musical brimming with wit, warmth, and sharp theatrical invention; a story about inheritance, identity, and the courage to rewrite your own story.
Book, music, and lyrics by Filip Holacky. Directed by Rachael Halliwell.
Commissioned by the School of Drama.
Thursday 16th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Blood-Bird-Bone
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
12.30pm - Room 219
Blood-Bone-Bird follows a mother’s struggle to protect her son from harm while navigating family court and post-separation abuse. Removed from her rural life on a community farm, into urban social housing, the play charts her descent, through the seasons.
Written by: Katie Covey, Dramaturgy by: Sheri Sanders, Directed by: Cheryl Martin
Improv, Improv, Improv
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 219
From The Comedy Society comes ‘Improv, Improv, Improv’ a witty and fast paced improvised comedy show.
Brought to you by the Leeds Conservatoire Comedy Society
Flightless
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
4.30pm - The Venue
Flightless is a soaring new musical that asks: how do we love when tomorrow isn’t guaranteed?
In a world gripped by a sudden global ice age head astrophysicist Olivia fights to find hope at a remote research base in Nunavut whilst her husband, Martin struggles to hold their family together. Navigating the friction of a new relationship with his stepdaughter, Ava, Martin must learn to earn her respect before the frost takes everything.
Written by Canadian composer Jason Wolff, Flightless is an intimate, powerful exploration of grief, regret, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of the apocalypse.
Book, Music & Lyrics by: Jason Wolff, Direction by: Candice Song. Music Direction by: Lara Brown. Associate Book Writer: Sheri Sanders. Choreography by: Kaz Gilbody and Charlotte Freeman
Poltergeist
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - Room 218
Valerie wants the story of a lifetime, the Pritchards just want to survive another night.
Inspired by Britain’s most violent poltergeist case, Colin Wilson Poltergeist! peels back the legend of the Black Monk of Pontefract to reveal a deeper truth.
In this exploration of survival, stubbornness, and the realisation that sometimes the most terrifying disturbances aren't the ones that go bump in the night, they’re the ones we bring with us.
Written and Directed by: Michael James, Music by: Lara Brown, Associate Director: Brandon Robinson-Connolly
The Other Frances
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - The Venue
Frances Hardy is not waiting to be rescued. The heroine of this story has a family estate on the brink of ruin, a fiancé, Thomas, who is sadly on the wooden side, and a life she hasn't yet been allowed to choose.
The Other Frances is a bold and playful new musical brimming with wit, warmth, and sharp theatrical invention; a story about inheritance, identity, and the courage to rewrite your own story.
Book, music, and lyrics by Filip Holacky. Directed by Rachael Halliwell.
Commissioned by the School of Drama.
Friday 17th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Three Girls and A Gun
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - Room 219
Three Girls and a Gun follows three young women and the crucial parts they played during the War efforts. Through each unique journey, the story reveals the characters’ indispensable contributions and the weight of their personal moral struggles.
Written and Created by: Darcie Tanner, Poppy Skye, Aaliyah Tausney
Flightless
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
4.30pm - The Venue
Flightless is a soaring new musical that asks: how do we love when tomorrow isn’t guaranteed?
In a world gripped by a sudden global ice age head astrophysicist Olivia fights to find hope at a remote research base in Nunavut whilst her husband, Martin struggles to hold their family together. Navigating the friction of a new relationship with his stepdaughter, Ava, Martin must learn to earn her respect before the frost takes everything.
Written by Canadian composer Jason Wolff, Flightless is an intimate, powerful exploration of grief, regret, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of the apocalypse.
Book, Music & Lyrics by: Jason Wolff, Direction by: Candice Song. Music Direction by: Lara Brown. Associate Book Writer: Sheri Sanders. Choreography by: Kaz Gilbody and Charlotte Freeman
Perks of Being a Wallflower
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
5.30pm - Room 218
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Courtesy of eOne UK
Throughout 1991–1992, high school freshman and introvert Charlie begins writing letters about his own life to an unknown recipient addressed, "Dear Friend".
For one performance only, this is you Dear Friend.
Brandon Robinson-Connolly adapts and directs Stephen Chbosky's bestselling coming of age novel as a transfixing explosive interplay of live performance through music, movement and a shapeshifting one-person performance.
With special thanks to Stephen Chbosky and eOne UK.
Recommended for ages 15 and older, as this production contains mature content and language.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for The Perks of Being a Wallflower are free but limited on a first come first serve basis, this is due to the capacity of the performance space.
If you can no longer attend, then we ask that you please return your tickets to enable re-sale from our Box Office.
Adapted from Stephen Chbosky's novel and motion picture “The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Courtesy of eOne UK”, Author: Stephen Chbosky, Director/Adaptor: Brandon Robinson-Connolly, Musical Director/Composer: Tom Maxwell, Movement Director: Ella Critchley, Assistant Director: Lydia Twigger, Sound Recordist: Michael James, Dramaturgs: Candice Song and Sheri Sanders
The Other Frances
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - The Venue
Frances Hardy is not waiting to be rescued. The heroine of this story has a family estate on the brink of ruin, a fiancé, Thomas, who is sadly on the wooden side, and a life she hasn't yet been allowed to choose.
The Other Frances is a bold and playful new musical brimming with wit, warmth, and sharp theatrical invention; a story about inheritance, identity, and the courage to rewrite your own story.
Book, music, and lyrics by Filip Holacky. Directed by Rachael Halliwell.
Commissioned by the School of Drama.
Saturday 18th July
Buy a full day ticket for all performances on this date HERE
Leeds Conservatoire Scratch Event
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
12.30pm - Room 219
A series of short plays from BA School of Drama students across Leeds Conservatoire.
Brought to you by the students of Leeds Conservatoire
Flightless
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
2.30pm - The Venue
Flightless is a soaring new musical that asks: how do we love when tomorrow isn’t guaranteed?
In a world gripped by a sudden global ice age head astrophysicist Olivia fights to find hope at a remote research base in Nunavut whilst her husband, Martin struggles to hold their family together. Navigating the friction of a new relationship with his stepdaughter, Ava, Martin must learn to earn her respect before the frost takes everything.
Written by Canadian composer Jason Wolff, Flightless is an intimate, powerful exploration of grief, regret, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of the apocalypse.
Book, Music & Lyrics by: Jason Wolff, Direction by: Candice Song. Music Direction by: Lara Brown. Associate Book Writer: Sheri Sanders. Choreography by: Kaz Gilbody and Charlotte Freeman
The Other Frances
Tickets available HERE
Show Details:
7.30pm - The Venue
Frances Hardy is not waiting to be rescued. The heroine of this story has a family estate on the brink of ruin, a fiancé, Thomas, who is sadly on the wooden side, and a life she hasn't yet been allowed to choose.
The Other Frances is a bold and playful new musical brimming with wit, warmth, and sharp theatrical invention; a story about inheritance, identity, and the courage to rewrite your own story.
Book, music, and lyrics by Filip Holacky. Directed by Rachael Halliwell.
Commissioned by the School of Drama.
Tickets
£8 - individual show tickets
£10 - full day tickets
Click the above ticket links for individual shows or for full day tickets which give you access to all shows on your chosen date.
How to Book
Please click the above performance links to book tickets online.
You can also contact our box office on 0113 222 3434 to book tickets over the phone. Please note our box office opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00AM - 5:00PM.
Accessibility
Leeds Conservatoire operate a step-free site and is flat surfaced throughout all buildings, however in The Venue itself front row seating is advised. Please contact our box office on 0113 222 3434 to discuss your requirements and to ensure we seat you in an appropriate area.
Further Accessibility information can be found on our Contact & Find Us page.
